Whistleblower Protections for Employees

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Physician employers have long been prohibited from retaliating against employees who disclose violations of law or regulations to a government or law enforcement agency, provided the employee did not violate the physician-patient privilege or disclose trade secret information in making the disclosure. This protection extends to employees who refuse to participate in an activity that would violate any law or regulation, or who exercised these rights in any former employment. Since January 1, 2014, the protection has been extended to cover an employee who complains to “a person with authority over the employee, or to a person with authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation or non-compliance,” which means that retaliation for making internal complaints is now also protected. The following discusses the statutory protections afforded to employees who make such reports. 1 For more information on whistleblower statutes, see